Granger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog, H back on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Granger for quality products, easy reordering, and 24-7 support.
Call 1-800GRANGER, clickgranger.com, or just stop by. Granger for the ones who get it done. It's 5.05 and welcome in to a Wednesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
We start off in the North Carolina legislature this morning.
However, not with politics as the Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup celebration moved from downtown Raleigh to the North Carolina General Assembly on Tuesday as lawmakers in both chambers honored the team for capturing their second championship in franchise history. On hand for the celebration, head coach Rob Brandemore, team captain Jordan Stahl, the Hurricanes CEO Brian Fork, and the Stanley Cup itself were recognized by lawmakers in both the North Carolina House and Senate. The Canes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in six games, clinching the title with a final 3-0 game victory. That was game six in Las Vegas back on June the 14th. It was Carolina's second Stanley Cup, the first in 20 years since 2006.
In the House, where the Stanley Cup made its first visits, Speaker Destin Hall, the Republican from Caldwell County, asked Brenda Moore for a pregame-style pep talk as lawmakers work through the final stages of budget negotiations. Hall joked from the dais, Coach, we're in the midst of a budget right now, and we are to the end, and we are in the need of a little bit of a pep talk. Whatever you said before game six, and maybe some of the things that you said during halftime, you could bring to these folks. Brenda Moore responded with a message about unity, saying that the Hurricanes championship run showed what a team can do and what can happen when people from different backgrounds come together and unify in their area around a shared goal. Here's the Carolina Hurricanes head coach on the House floor yesterday.
I wasn't really prepared to speak, but that's okay. I can wing it. And I gotta watch what I say. In my locker room, I can pretty much say what I want.
So I'll try to. Same applies here, Kennedy, but I'll hit the scabbard or something about that. But first of all, just really want to thank all of you for acknowledging us and having us here. It's special in. I'll just go to, I think, what we can do from my perspective.
I can't help you push much across. I don't have any say. I don't really even know what it is you're trying to push across, to be honest with you. But I will say the Carolina hurricanes, what we can do, and I witnessed it, and I have been here for. 26 years now.
And so, yes, it is a hockey town, I can tell you that. But what I witnessed on Saturday at the parade was something very, very special. And I know you guys had a lot to do with organizing that and making it happen. But what I witnessed was a lot of people coming together. And Supporting us, but maybe people that wouldn't normally talk to each other.
We're state fans, and Carolina fans, and Duke fans, and whoever else fans coming together and supporting our team. And we're very, very happy to see us win because we're their team. And that's something that I think we've, these guys right here, have done. This wouldn't happen without these guys, but it also wouldn't happen without your support. And that's the one thing that our team can do: we can unify.
And I know, I don't know exactly, I'm not really into the political stuff. To be quite honest, I try not to be because it gets frustrating when I watch. And I'm sure you guys are frustrated. And I don't know if it's this room that you got people on this side and people on this side, but it's amazing when I talk about what a team can do, when people can work together. What can actually be accomplished.
And when I think of the team, and I said this the other night: the teams that go on this Stanley Cup, there's no greater team that's ever won the Stanley Cup than what these guys have done, because they were what a team is all about.
So I know that doesn't help you. But Thank you guys for having us and Like, we're going to try to do this again, so we'll hopefully make this a yearly thing. Thank you. Thank you. That's Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rob Brindemore on the floor of the North Carolina House yesterday as the Stanley Cup victory celebration made its way to the North Carolina General Assembly.
Representative Aaron Perre, the Republican from Wake County, said that the championship impact extends well beyond hockey, saying on the House floor, the championship's impact reaches far beyond the ice, showcasing Wake County as a destination for sports, business, and opportunity. One of her fellow colleagues, Representative Mike Sheetzel, also a Republican from Wake County, added that the team's impact could be seen in the thousands of fans who gathered in downtown Raleigh for the championship celebration. Sheetzelt said during the House floor session, the 180,000 people that came out for the parade, that was a moment that parents shared with their children. Those were moments that friends shared with each other, neighbors shared with each other. These men didn't just entertain fans.
They inspired our city. They inspired our state. And you can't put a price tag on that. The House passed a resolution honoring the Hurricanes for their 2026 Stanley Cup championship, recognizing the team's regular season success, a very dominant playoff run, as well as its community engagement and role in building civic pride across the state. In the North Carolina Senate, it was about a 30 minutes or so in the House.
Then the championship made its way, the championship trophy made its way across the building to the North Carolina Senate, where a similar situation, lawmakers praised the Hurricanes for bringing North Carolina together after the championship run, with Senator Norman Sanderson, the Republican from Carter County, saying that the team's success showed the value of North Carolina's investment in professional sports. Sanderson said on the Senate floor, this team has shown people all over the state what an investment and a good investment that we have made and that our owners have made. I've never seen in my life and certainly not in my career any event. That brought this whole state together the way that you guys did. Senator Ralph Heist, the Republican from Mitchell County, praised the organization's work in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, saying that the Hurricanes Foundation helped rebuild sports fields and continues to help rebuild sports fields in some of the most heavily impacted areas in western North Carolina.
With Senator Tom McInnis, the Republican from Richmond County, saying that the Hurricanes helped introduce hockey to rural North Carolina. McGinnis said, We want to thank you for bringing rural North Carolina, where I live, up to speed on such a fabulous game, a family game, a game that brings people together. In wrapping out the commentary, Senate leader Phil Berger. The Republican from Rockingham County said that the Hurricanes Championship had united North Carolina in a way few sports moments can. Berger said from the dais, the UNC Tar Heels can win a national championship and half the state is pulling for somebody else.
NC State can win one and half the state is pulling for somebody else. But when you win the Stanley Cup, all of North Carolina is pulling for you. The General Assembly ceremonies came three days after more than 180,000 fans packed downtown Raleigh for the Hurricanes Championship parade. A turnout official say made it the single largest day event in downtown Raleigh history. A huge feat for the Carolina Hurricanes, a major win for them, and bringing some of that to the North Carolina General Assembly on Tuesday.
This, of course, all on the heels of something that we have continually talked about, or at least talked about a little bit over the last. A couple of months or so, the push to bring a major league baseball team to the state of North Carolina. There is a lot of discussion as it relates to MLB, Major League Baseball here in the state.
Some more recent discussions between the North Carolina House in session, getting a Senate, I should say, getting a little bit of a different view from both chambers. The Senate and Senate leader Phil Berger seemingly a little bit more open to providing some potential monetary funding for baseball here in North Carolina. House Speaker Destin Hall pressed on the issue once again on the House floor yesterday after the ceremony took place with the Carolina Hurricanes. He said that he does remain relatively skeptical about allocating state dollars for a major league baseball team and moving an MLB or expanding, I should say, an MLB franchise here in the state of North Carolina as Raleigh would be the host city for that. Budget negotiations.
Negotiations do continue in Raleigh as well. There was some lighthearted joking between leadership in both the North Carolina House and Senate as to if the Carolina hurricanes could help bring the other chamber on board with some of their budget priorities. Lawmakers are expected to be back again once again today in Raleigh. The voting will take place in both the House and Senate. We are patiently awaiting details on whether or when a budget will be announced by state lawmakers.
We'll be keeping a close eye on that over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. And of course, as always, right here on the Carolina Journal NewsHour. Summer adventures are better with Minky Couture. From road trips to ball games, beach nights to backyard movies, Minky has you covered. Don't miss the Everywhere blanket.
Water resistant, ultra-soft, and made for life on the go. Wherever summer takes you, bring comfort along. MinkyCouture.com, the original best blanket ever. It's 5:21. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour.
Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM. WBT, a lot of movement in Raleigh. Obviously, we just talked about the Carolina hurricanes bringing the Stanley Cup to the state legislature on Tuesday. Not a lot of politics associated with that.
However, there was a lot of politics going on as a bill aimed at ensuring that artificial intelligence does not drive up health care costs advanced Tuesday in the North Carolina Senate. Supporters say that the bill is needed to prevent AI technology from being used to inflate medical charges while still allowing its use to improve efficiency for doctors and hospital systems across the state. The legislation, House Bill 565, limit the use of AI Medicaid slash commercial insurance, would prohibit artificial intelligence from being used as the sole basis to deny a utilization review determination. It also targets AI systems used in healthcare billing, coding, and documentation that are designed to promote upcoding or billing for a higher level of service, severity, or risk than the clinical records support. Senator Amy Gailey, the Republican from Alamance County, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that the legislation is intended to address concerns that some AI-driven billing systems are producing higher charges without corresponding changes in care.
Meaning care is essentially exactly the same, but the prices are higher due to some of these billing systems. Gailey told her colleagues. There is an indication based on billing developments in the last three to four years that some providers in the country are using billing systems that are designed to increase the bills. Gailey said that the bill, this piece of legislation, not the healthcare bills, are aimed at the software itself, not individual physicians or those that are employed as coders within the healthcare industry. Gailey said the issue is that the code itself appears to have a bias written into it, which enhances or elevates the charges.
The root of the problem is not the person who is doing the backside of the coding. The issue is the algorithm itself, and it has been written in such a way to enhance said bill. Under the legislation, AI developers and healthcare providers would be prohibited from intentionally designing, using, or modifying billing, coding, or documentation systems to promote upcoding or upcharging within the healthcare industry. Violations would be treated as unfair and deceptive trade practices with the aim of determining manipulation of charges through AI. She said insurers may have had access to large data sets showing anomalies across hospitals or states, putting them in a better position than individual patients.
To identify questionable trends.
However, she did say any review of proprietary code could be done under a seal to protect intellectual property. Gailey said, We don't want to stifle any kind of efficiencies that can come in healthcare from adopting artificial intelligence.
However, several senators raised questions about whether the bill fully addressed the risk of AI on both sides of the healthcare system. Senator Benton Sawyery, the Republican from Johnston County, said that lawmakers need to examine AI use by providers and insurers, particularly when patient outcome and costs are at stake. Sawyeri told his fellow colleagues: I think it's important that we have this discussion holistically on both sides of the equation. both the provider side and the payer side. Sawyer noted that AI has grown rapidly in healthcare over the past decade, noting that it has been a substantial force and a substantial disruptive impact in force on all parts of the healthcare industry.
The bill also drew concerns from state senator Michael Lee, the Republican from New Hanover County, who said that artificial intelligence can offer real benefits in medical coding when used properly. Lee said his mother handled coding for his father's medical practice and understood the difference between finding the right code and upcoding. Lee said during the meeting, it seems that the benefits of what is provided by AI could be substantial in creating efficiencies, and I think we need to look at this a little bit longer. With Lee adding, we might need to message this issue, massage this issue, excuse me, a little bit more right now. Because the Senate version makes significant changes to the bill of House Bill 30.
565 passes the Senate. It must return to the North Carolina House for what is called concurrence. At that point, the House will then decide whether or not to accept the Senate's amendments or propose further changes. The original House bill, which passed its second reading back on April the 30th in a 110-1 vote, focused on a different subject before the Senate replaced it with the current language regulating artificial intelligence in healthcare billing and insurer decisions. We did get a little bit of a preview of some of the disagreements still between the North Carolina House and Senate on Tuesday.
There were two different pieces of legislation that, right off the top of my head, were coming back to the North Carolina House in terms of concurrence from the North Carolina Senate. Both of those pieces of legislation were overwhelmingly voted down by the North Carolina House, sending the legislation back to the North Carolina Senate.
Now, it is not immediately clear whether that is a disagreement over policy or that is a procedural move by the North Carolina House, potentially to fold some of the language in those pieces of legislation into the budget, setting up a conference committee or a conference report on some of that legislation.
So, there are a couple of different ways, a couple of reasons why I should say that some of that could have taken place in the North Carolina General Assembly.
However, it is. Pretty common, I'll say, or relatively common when you've got a piece of legislation that is totally gutted by lawmakers and have all of its verbiage replaced, that there is not always full unified agreement between the North Carolina House and Senate. We very much know that that is the case as we continue to await details on a state budget here as we get very close to rounding out the month of June. We will be, of course, keeping an eye not only on this legislation, but everything else that we've discussed over the last couple of weeks, as we are expecting voting days in Raleigh both today and potentially tomorrow. That would be one of the first Thursday sessions of Thursday voting days that we have seen here in a couple of weeks.
We'll be keeping you up to date over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. It's 5:36. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM. WBT, I'm Nick Craig. Good Wednesday morning to you.
Keeping our discussion on healthcare this morning, of the more than 500 hospitals nationwide that have been issued warnings or requests for corrective action by the Trump administration for noncompliance as it relates to a new pricing transparency requirement, 11 of those facilities in North Carolina. This is according to a list recently obtained by the Associated Press and reported by The Hill. The list also indicates for each hospital whether a warning or a request for corrective action has been issued. With the note being that hospitals could be fined up to $2 million annually should they fail to comply. The 11 North Carolina hospitals that are accused of being non-compliant are Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, the Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, the ECU Health Hospital in Washington, North Carolina, the ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville, First Health Montgomery Memorial Hospital in Troy, North Carolina, First Health Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, Fry Regional Medical Center in Hickory, Holly Hill Hospital in Raleigh, Dozier Memorial Hospital in Southport, Kernersville Medical Center in Kernersville, and Veritas Collaborative LLC in Durham.
According to Brian Balfour, the vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, he says the lack of pricing transparency is a major source of frustration for hospitals. Patients, noting it's a reflection of how heavily regulated and subsidized the healthcare industry is that customers and consumers don't have access to basic pricing information. He says, it's hard to imagine customers being forced to wait until after they purchase a good or service to find out its pricing in an openly competitive market. Requiring price transparency is a good measure, but it is just a needed intervention to correct for problems created by an already existing massive amount of government intervention in the healthcare sector. Balfour went on to say a better approach would be to systematically unravel the countless layers of government interference in health insurance and medical care that enables providers to conceal their prices in the first place.
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump back on February the 25th of 2025 mandated that hospitals make pricing information available for 300 commonly provided services available to customers in an accessible way. This would allow consumers Consumers to compare and shop services and choose the best provider based on their financial needs. The executive order originated from a 2021 rule finalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which triggered a 2019 executive order during President Trump's first term that implemented the same requirements as the executive order he signed in late February of 2025. A White House fact sheet describing the executive order reads: The order directs the Department of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to rapidly implement and enforce the Trump health care price transparency regulations, which were slowwalked by the previous administration. Economic analysis from 2023 estimated that if the regulations were fully implemented, They could result in up to $80 billion in healthcare-related costs by 2025, not only for consumers, but also for insurers and employers.
A 2024 report indicates that transparency could lead employers to lower healthcare costs by as much as 27% across 500 common services. The 2025 order ensures that actual prices, not estimates, are disclosed by healthcare systems, including those for prescription drugs. It also requires departments to update their enforcement policies to ensure compliance. The president said at the time when signing the executive order, our goal was to give patients the knowledge that they need about the real price of healthcare services. They'll be able to check them, compare them, go to different locations so that they can shop for the highest quality care at the lowest cost.
And this is about high quality care. We're also looking at that. You're looking at the comparisons between talents, which are very important, but you're also looking at cost. In some cases, you'll get the best doctor at the lowest cost, and that is a good thing. You can read more on this report.
Over 500 hospitals nationwide dinged by the Trump administration for not following through with this healthcare transparency list, providing the 300 common procedures or services for individuals and making that publicly available. We've got the list of the 11 North Carolina hospitals over at our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Look for the story with the headline, 11 NC Hospitals Warned by Trump administration on pricing transparency. In some other healthcare news this morning, some bad healthcare news across the state, North Carolina has the seventh longest emergency room visit time in the country. With patients in the state spending on an average three hours and 15 minutes in emergency departments, 35 minutes longer than the national average of two hours and 40 minutes.
This is according to brand new data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. ER visit times also vary significantly among North Carolina hospitals. The longest average ER visit time was at Duke University hospitals, where patients spent an average, now this is an average, of five hours and 20 minutes in the emergency department, with the shortest being at Swain Community Hospital, where the wait there was just an hour and 15 minutes. The federal data does not explain what is driving North Carolina's significantly on average longer ER wait times.
However, some health policy analysts argue that both increased demand for health care services and state policies affecting hospital capacity are likely contributing to the problem. Brian Balfour, the senior vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, said that Medicaid expansion very likely is contributing to lengthy ER visit times, especially if patient demand is increasing faster than provider capacity. You'll remember this: North Carolina expanded Medicaid effective December the 1st, 2023. And as of May the 1st, 2026, more than 725,000 North Carolinians have enrolled through expansion, with overall Medicaid now covering one in four North Carolinians. Balfour said an overcrowded Medicaid system makes it difficult for enrollees to find regular physicians, so they may turn up in the emergency room instead.
Research has long shown that Medicaid patients use ERs use emergency rooms at higher rates than people with private insurance, particularly for non-urgent care. According to some details in this, research has shown that Medicaid patients, again, use that. A North Carolina focused study that was published back in 2023 noted that Medicaid patients, quote, disproportionately use more ER care than other patients with comparable health. Citing prior research, the authors report that Medicaid patients were 700% more likely than privately insured patients to visit emergency rooms for non-urgent health care issues. According to the Center for Disease Control of the CDC, patients covered by Medicaid, CHIP, or other state-based programs had 99 ER visits per 100 people in 2022 compared to 21 visits per 100 people among privately insured patients.
So that is likely one of the factors, Medicaid expansion here in the state of North Carolina. One of the other issues, certificate of need. Brian Balfour also said that North Carolina's con law or certificate of need could also be contributing to some of those lengthy ER visit times. The law, as it stands right now, requires hospitals. To obtain permission from a state commission before building facilities, adding beds, or purchase certain types of medical equipment.
A 2021 report from the John Locke Foundation found that certificate of need laws were associated with 30% fewer hospital beds per capita, 13% fewer hospitals, and 14% longer emergency room visit times. The five states with the longest ER times in this new report all have relatively strong certificate of need laws. The North Carolina Healthcare Association, which represents hospitals across North Carolina, supports the state's con law. On its website, it says that the law, quote, ensures that healthcare services are right size for the community, guaranteeing access for all patients. Carolina Journal asked the association for what factors are contributing to lengthy emergency room visits, which steps and what steps hospitals can take to reduce them, and whether state lawmakers should consider policy changes to address the issue.
No surprise, the industry and the association did not reply to the Carolina Journal in time for publication.
However, state leaders have raised questions about health care capacity after Raleigh-based Wake Med and Charlotte-based Atrium Health proposed a merger back on May the 1st. That came seemingly out of nowhere. Just a few days later on May the 4th, Wake County Commissioners delayed the vote on the merger for at least 90 days after state treasurer Brad Breiner. and Representatives Aaron Perre and Mike Scheetzel expressed concerns about capacity and quality. Certificate of need does remain a major topic of conversation here in North Carolina as we continue to watch details out of the General Assembly here.
In the legislative short session, there's the possibility that we see either some standalone certificate of need rollbacks or that some certificate of need changes could be potentially made in the state budget. We will be keeping an eye on those details in Raleigh over the next couple of weeks. We'll bring you the latest right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT is celebrating 250 years of freedom and 50 years of WBT's Sky Show. Join us Saturday, July the 4th at Truest Field.
That is home of the Charlotte Knights, as the Charlotte Symphony will present a musical tribute to America, followed by the biggest and best fireworks show in the Southeast. It's the 50th anniversary WBT Sky Show presented by Rhino Shield. Headed your way Saturday, July the 4th at Truest Field in Uptown Charlotte. Visit WBT.com this morning for tickets and event details. Yesterday morning here on the Carolina Journal News Hour brought you some details on six pieces of legislation that Democrat Governor Josh Stein had signed into law on Monday.
One of them makes North Carolina the first state in the nation to ban third-party litigation investment under a bill that is now a law. The legislation was called House Bill or was titled House Bill 315, Prohibit Litigant Investment Slash Amend WC Benefits, and it bans outside investors from funding civil litigation in North Carolina in exchange for financial stakes tied to the outcome.
Now, this received very broad bipartisan support when it was going through the legislature, a 112 to 0 vote in the House and a 45 to 1 vote in the North Carolina Senate, with the law making it unlawful for anyone to engage in litigation investment in North Carolina or to furnish litigation investment to a party or attorney of record in a civil proceeding in the state. Supporters say that the measure is aimed at stopping hedge funds, private investors, foreign-backed entities, or other outside financiers from turning lawsuits into investment vehicles. The North Carolina Chamber of Commerce very strongly backed this legislation and urged the North Carolina General Assembly to move forward with it. Mitch Kokai from the John Locke Foundation said, it's interesting to see North Carolina take the lead on this campaign against outside investment into lawsuits filed in this state. Mm-hmm.
Most of us probably have heard little about this issue, but it is a major priority from the North Carolina Chamber and its members. Supporting the measure appears to fall in line with Republican legislative leaders and their continuing efforts to make the state as business-friendly as possible. The North Carolina Chamber argues that the practice threatens North Carolina's legal and business climate by allowing outsiders with no direct connections to a dispute to influence civil litigation for potentially major profits. The North Carolina Chamber recently said in a statement, this is not about limiting access to justice or changing legal rights. This change is nothing to the civil justice system that we know well.
It only prevents strangers to litigation disputes investing in an outcome for profit. It will ensure that our legal system delivers justice and does not become a financial investment market. The organization also raised concerns about foreign capital, hidden fund arrangements, and others access to sensitive business information and potential exposure to intellectual property if they are parties in the suit. The bill itself does not ban traditional contingency fee arrangements between attorneys and clients. It also includes exceptions for attorney advancements of litigation costs, insurance-related defenses, or other obligations, certain nonprofit legal assistance, direct loans not tied to the outcome of the litigation, family support, or personal or household support not used to pay litigation costs.
The law renders any contracts that violate the new law unenforceable, with the Attorney General being authorized to bring civil action to stop further violations that could come forward in North Carolina. With that, the courts may also impose civil penalties up to $50,000 per violation, with individuals harmed by these violations potentially able to file counter lawsuits and seek damages. As I mentioned, the legislation did pass both chambers of the General Assembly with broad bipartisan. Partisan support.
Some of the primary sponsors include Representatives Reese Pertle, the Republican from Rockingham, Tim Reeves, the Democrat from Chatham, Carson Smith, the Republican from Pender, and Shelley Willingham, the Democrat from Edgecombe County, the governor signing this piece of legislation into law on Monday. That's going to do it for a Wednesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT.
